talks a lot about beauty, privilege, and talks about how being good looking can get you ahead and how it's not fair in all cases, obviously. a really very interesting person. >> advice to meet a lot of different people and learn from them. >> good information across the globe. >> whether you are beautiful or not. >> that's all for "early start." i'm john berman. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. "starting point" with soledad o'brien starts right now. welcome, everybody. our starting point this morning, a severe flu outbreak is spreading. dozens have been killed, hundreds hospitalized, new numbers show there could be relief in sight. clashing over gun violence. vice president biden meets with the nra, doesn't go so well. what does it mean for efforts to prevent gun violence? the cost of flu outbreak from you calling in sick and maybe worse, from all of you who aren't. what it's costing us.

tornadoes touch down in louisiana, water levels keep rising and more rain on the way. a packed show for you this morning. talk to cnn chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta, dr. anthony fauci, from the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases. former new mexico give nor bill richardson, illinois congresswoman january, and t-boz will be joining us. "starting point" begins right now. welcome, everybody. our starting point is kind of gross. the flu. a nasty strain running rampant across the country. thousands hospitalized and dozens of people have died. in just a few hours, the cdc will release new numbers on how widespread the flu is. cnn's medical unit got an early look and one expert says we're

at epidemic levels. dr. sanjay gupta is in atlanta. what are you expecting to hear? >> elizabeth cohen has been working through the night on getting these numbers. one number, which is important and what we expected. widespread outbreak of the flu. 47 states, up from 41 states with an outbreak of the flu. some good news. the number of states with high levels of activity has gone down from 29 now to 24. two additional deaths in young people, from 18 to 20. but there may be some relief as you say in sight. we are at epidemic threshold. that basically means we are seeing more cases than we expected to see at this time year. big question? will those cases stay elevated or will they start to come down across the country? >> we keep hearing, get a flu shot, get a flu shot. some got our flu shots early.

yes, i'm gloating. if you haven't gotten your flu shot yet, is there enough vaccine? >> i think so. i crunched some numbers on this overnight. may be some spot shortages, but general numbers, take aook at how many of these vaccines were specifically manufactured, 135 million, bottom number, 112 million vaccinated. not bad. fits with what we tip ukly see this time of the year. 16 million doses out there, distributed in stores and pharmacies across the country and another 7 million ready to go. and also that flu mist that we talk about, the nasal spray, 300,000 doses ready to go. they expire at the end of next month. there may be enough. may not be in the usual pharmacy. >> thank you, sanjay. appreciate it. >> you got it. important meetings at the white house to tell you about today. president obama welcomes afghanistan's president hamid karzai. the two will discuss the nature of the troop presence in afghanistan after 2014, which is

when the nato combat mission is declared over. the obama administration floated the idea of removing american troops all together. president karzai met with secretary of state clinton last night over dinner. and joe biden plans to deliver recommendations from the gun control task force to the president on tuesday. yesterday, the vice president met with representatives on various sides of the issue. the former head of a movie industry group argued movies aren't behind the violence. the nra step ahead way from discussions and said they were in attack of second amendment. dan lothian has been following developments for us this morning. sol folks said they see some consensus in some areas. when you listen to what the nra said, they sounded very disappointed with the meetings. >> that's right. we sort of expect thad coming in. it wasn't a very big, bold expectation from the nra, saying they were coming to simply listen to what the administration had to put out

there. the vice president did talk about some things floating to the top. not recommendations that come from him, but recommendations he said coming from all the various groups he has been meeting with. at the top of the list is a total universal background check, including private sales of guns, second on that list, a ban on high-capacity ammunition clips and also talked about the need for the federal government to get more research. get their hands on more information that he believes will prevent more gun violence in the future. pushback from the nra saying that they were troubled by the fact that this discussions had less to do with protecting children and more to do with an attack on the second amendment. take a listen. >> the vice president said we'd do with this on an open mind. and there won't be an agreement. in a sense, they were checking a box. we met with the nra, with the

people who were strong second amendment supporters. >> one thing we didn't hear the vice president talk about is this push recently of lawmakers up on the hill to reinstate the assault weapons ban. white house aides saying the president, the vice president, still support this, perhaps a recommendation, though, that it will be difficult to make it through congress, so they are focused on other elements that can get bipartisan support. >> a couple of things, walmart finally changes its schedule to meet with the vice president after much discussion about that, and the vice president can't change his schedule to meet with walmart what that was about? >> i know. i think what happened was, you know, walmart at the last minute decided to come to washington after a big dustup. initially they said they were busy, they had a scheduling conflict and could not come and also pointed out that they had some discussions with the white house by phone. at the last minute, they sent a

representative to meet with officials, not the vice president. he was not able to get them in on the schedule. nonetheless, they are part of the discussions on this issue, according to walmart. they said they want to be part of the solution on this the problem, though, with all of these groups trying to figure out what the best options are. everyone recognizes what the big problem is here, but what the option and solution is is much more difficult. >> maybe step one is when they get on your calendar, make sure that you can get on the calendar as well. dan lothian, thank you. appreciate it. if jack lew, nominee of secretary of the treasury actually gets that gig, this is the signature that could we on our money. yesterday, president obama assured the world that the american dollar is safe, even with that. >> i never noticed jack's signature. when this was highlighted in the press, kconsidered rescinding m

offer to appoint him. jack assures me he is going to work to make at least one letter legible. in order not to debase our currency should he be confirmed as secretary of the treasury. >> this is what his signature would look like on a dollar bill if it all goes through. looks like what my boys do. >> people have studied this. he has the same number of loops each time he does it. >> tim geithner says one of the first things he had to do when he became treasury secretary, was make it a little more legible. >> it suddenly matters. other stories making news this morning. john has that for us. the 16-year-old who opened fire and critically wounded a high school classmate claims he was bullied. he was tar getting two boys at taft high school in balkersfield, california. the suspect may have had a hit

list. teacher ryan heber and kim lee fields, counselor, getting high praise for convincing the shooter to put the shotgun down. >> this teacher and counselor stood face to face not knowi ii whether he would turn the gun on them. they have seen the news meadow, probably expected the worst and hoped for the best, gave students a chance to escape and conversed and it worked. >> for now, the suspect will be charged as a juvenile with attempted murder it will be up to prosecutors to decide if he will be eventually charged as an adult. some americans are believed to be among the dead in a hotel fire in the northern philippines. it happened at the dryden hotel in oulangopo city. the fire destroyed seven rooms, some offices, a communications center and a computer room. investigators trying to nail down the cause. initial signs suggest it may have been an electrical fire.

it is now official. james holmes will be tried for murder in colorado for the movie theater rampage. that ruling from the judge, who presided over his three-day evidence hearing this week. holmes will be arraigned today on 166 counts connected to the massacre, including first degree murder. he's accused of opening fire in an auror gentleman, colora oo o theater. the charges could carry the death penalty. three tornado touchdowns, surveillance video of one of the twisters. one town, eunice in southwestern louisiana, has been drenched with more than a foot of rain in three days. seven parrishes have widespread flooding, causing governor bobby jindal to declare a state of emergency. more rain forecast for this weekend. a really big change in major league baseball's drug testing

program. they will drug test human growth hormone in season starting next season. this announcement, one day after baseball whiffed on the hall of fame class. none were elected. i have covered steroids in sports for over ten years are, it would have been unimaginable to have in-season blood testing. players said they would never allow it. they didn't know how taking blood might affect their performance on the field. >> what? >> they said if you take blood just before a game, the clubhouse or locker room, they were concerned it might affect the way they play the game. >> how much blood? >> you may think that's ridiculous. >> i do think it's ridiculous. having given a lot of blood over the years, how is that possible? >> to allow the tests, a major concession, major progress in testing in sports. >> because it makes so nens. how much blood to you have to give? >> they are relatively news, and

a lot of progress. >> you are not giving a liter of blood. >> look, i agree. but these players have held a firm line for years and years and years. and it's a big step. >> what are you going to do? have another class where no one is elected into the hall of fame. up next on "starting point," how did the meetings go between vice president joe biden and the nra. richard feldman, president of the independent firearm owners association. he was there. what he thought of the meetings. business news as well, christine. >> business of the flu. taking it's toll on your health. but what the sick days are doing to our economy. and worse, those of you who aren't taking sick days, the cost of that. you're watching "starting point." ♪

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welcome back, everybody. showdown in washington, d.c. to some degree. vice president joe biden will deliver recommendations on gun control to the president on tuesday, after meeting with gun advocacy groups like the nra and national shooting sports foundation. here is a portion of what to expect in those recommendations. >> there's an emerging set of recommendations, not coming from me. but coming from the groups we've met with. one is that there was a surprising so far -- a surprising recurrence of suggestions that we have universal background checks. not just close the gun show

loophole, but total universal background check, including private sales. >> the nra says they won't support that and the whole meeting was an attack on the second amendment. richard feldman is joining us now. >> thank you. >> give us the sense of how it went as someone inside the room. the nra was disappointed. they felt they had been invited so people could see they were there, but there wasn't an intention to hear them out. did you agree with that? >> i thought we had a real conversation, and it wasn't just a lecture. we had some different positions on some issues, but really a lot more agreement on many of the multifaceted aspects of the problem than really sometimes come out in the media. when i spoke as i do in colleges and conferences around this

country. i talk about how important it is on this issue to focus correctly on the language. if you ask the question and focus on guns, if we ask the question, in whose hands were the guns, we find we're in a lot of agreement. we talked about civil commitment laws. we talked about the need for greater penalties for gun running. we talked about the problems that the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms with giving law enforcement agencies the tools to do their job, such as the niban program. i believe the vice president was very supportive of adding moneys to allow a law enforcement to do the job that the tasked with doing and doing it correctly. >> it sounds much more positive than some who came out after

these meetings, you think it will come out of this meeting real change that will ultimately protect people from the kinds of violence we've seen? >> you know, if we focus correctly on the problems, we stand a real chance of doing something and having solutions that are going to work. but if we go back to the bumper stickers of the past, and the two sides just yelling past each other, and really not even talking about the same issue at the same time, then, no, we won't solve anything. >> here is what the nra said specifically after the meeting. we were disappointed with how little this meeting had to do with keeping our children safe and how much it had to do with ab agenda to attack the second amendment. do you think they had a point on that? >> anyone who came to that meeting and thought minds would be turned around 180 degrees isn't a player. we got to air our positions.

the national rifle association was very effective in stating their beliefs. as was the nssf. most of the discussion was a very adult-like discussion. we found lots of areas of agreement. i didn't think it was a bad discussion at all. i hope we continue that dialog, but, of course, so much of this activity is going to focus after next week on capital hill. and that's where we in a democracy really play that out. this is going to be a legislative issue, not so much executive one. >> universal background checks, would you support that? is that a good idea? >> our organization -- our organization believes strongly that at gun shows there, ought to be background checks on the transfer of a firearm at a gun show, right now, dealers have to make that transfer, but private citizens don't. that doesn't make much sense to us, because essentially you are

putting yourself in the same position as a dealer. you are open to the public. but when we talk about universal checks, people may not understand what that means. that means when you give a gun to your child, or to your spouse, or you sell a gun to a friend or a neighbor, there is an important distinction there. you know who you sold the gun to. and i've never heard anyone say there is some big problem with criminals getting guns from people that own them lawfully and sold it to them. the problem, soledad, there are 500,000 guns stolen of yore in th -- every year in this country. >> so why not have -- a universal check. people would report that their gun was stolen. people would have to say i gave it to my spouse, i gave it to my child, i gave it to my friend, so you could track if that person gave it to somebody else.

why would that be a bad thing? and how would it interfere with the second amendment? >> it creates problems where there is no problem today. no one has alleged that there is a problem there. obviously, in the horrible situation in newtown, the son stole the guns, and the problem was that the guns were not kept secured from unauthorized users. >> but strawman purchases are a huge problem. but the idea of knowing who you -- who ultimately gets the gun seems to me not only to be practical, but wouldn't infringe on everybody's second amendment right. >> soledad, everybody in the room yesterday, nra included, was all in favor of enhanced penalties for strawman purchases. a lot of agreement in the room yesterday. there will be disagreement on a couple of key issues and that's why we have a congress and this issue isn't coming to an end

next tuesday. there will be hearings on the hill and this is going to be a big fight. >> richard feldman, president of the independent firearms owners association. >> thank you for your time, soledad. >> you bet. you bet. what are these gun task force meetings doing to gun stocks? christine romans breaks it down next. and our "starting point" team heads in to talk about that and much more. good morning.

welcome back to "starting point." i'm christine romans minding your business. s & p 500 hit a five- year high. closing at the highest level since december 2007. u.s. stock futures are flat this morning. wells fargo reports fourth quarter earnings before the bell. the massive flu outbreak costing the economy about $83 billion, according to statistics based on 2011. that's the direct costs. indirect costs from lost productive, $6.2 billion annually. 17 million work days are lost due to flu-related illness. nyc's new york's comptroller

have called for businesses to give paid sick leave so contagious people don't come to work anyway. >> i don't like sick people. >> that's why we have an epidemic. >> go ahead. >> gun stocks fell again after more gun force task meet negotiation washington. stearns rulinger over 3%. walmart attended the white house meeting after initially citing a scheduling conference. out of respect for the process we're not commenting on the meeting it was said. after walmart decided to attend the white house meeting, it was the attorney general, not the vice president that met with retailer, dueling scheduling conferences i guess. >> ridiculous, by the way. biden will meet with representatives of the video game industry. he will give a recommendation to the president by tuesday. >> they won't comment out of

respect for the process, but i'll comment. i think it's ridiculous. the vice president should have met with walmart. they are a major retailer. should have found 25 minutes in his schedule to have a conversation. let's bring in our team. crates frates, abby huntsman, bill burton, nice to have you all with us. don't you think? >> my question, if you are the government relateses guy for walmart, what is your scheduling conflict that you can't make a white house meeting? >> they changed it, cleared a scheduling conference and they went. so who was the person at the white house who couldn't clear the vice president's schedule. >> what is the saying? you always make time for you what want to make time for. it relates to dating too. >> scheduling conflicts we know is a euphemism for this is not

important. the vice president should have made time. walmart is the leader in terms of retailers. >> a power play too. the vice president, if you are shunning me, i had shun you. >> a disaft, after a dis. >> the vice president is slightly busier than some guy at walmart. we're prosecuting a war and other things going on in the government. >> and, yet this is the top of the agenda and this is the largest retailer in the country. we are to take a break. one of the most oppressive countries in the world. we'll talk to former new mexico governor bill richardson about his trip to north korea the state department says it's not a go ahead idea to go. they went anyway. he will join us live next. what would you say if you saw a moving car with an invisible driver. a hilarious prank. what happened at several drive through windows. mine was earned in djibouti, africa, 2004.

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get the blood tests. change your number. turn it up. androgel 1.62%. welcome back. you're watching "starting point." we begin with john berman and a look at today's top stories. the national department of transportation will review the boeing 787 dreamliner after two incidents overnight in japan, coming on the heels of three other mechanical failures this week. good morning, rene marsh. >> the faa will announce in two

hours from now, the plans to scrutinize how this jumbo jet was assembled, how parts were manufactured, and looking into its overall design. this would, of course, come days after an electrical fire in the belly of an empty japanese plane on the tarmac at logan airport on monday. one of the lithium batteries exploded. this is what a spokesperson from boeing. we actively work with the faa daily across our product lines. we are absolutely confident in the reliability and performance of the 787. so we're expecting that announcement in just about two hours from now, john. >> thank you very much, rene marsh in washington. ohio's attorney general says the investigation into the steubenville rape case is almost over. and the superintendent of schools is speaking out about

the case and social media's role in the whole thing. >> horrendous act. a horrible act of what went on with the internet and the social media. and we need to get them more educated on social media. with that learning point or teaching point per se, i think we have to be aware of, hey, these are situations that can happen. and, unfortunately, it's come to light in steubenville, ohio. >> the case attracted a new wave of national attention when a video went viral. two students have been charged with the rape of a 16-year-old girl. big news for those americans trying to adopt russian children. a law signed by president putton last month won't go into effect for one year, which means some adoptions can proceed giving some family who's were close new hope. this is seen as retaliation on

human rights abusers in russia really sad that families and kids being caught in the middle of an international dispute. this may be the best drive through prank ever. an as spiring magician created a driver's seat costume that makes it look like nobody is driving the car at all. he went through a bunch of fast food drivers and recorded the stunned, freaked out employees. >> oh mshg, my god. >> hello. what the heck is that? oh, my god. oh, my god. >> oh, my god. i can't -- >> really? girl. hello! are you serious?

>> clearly someone to watch. genius. >> we are not too far off from that, where cars can drive themselves places. >> hopefully they won't have to eat. that was funny. he will become a huge celebrity for that. i love that. let's turn and talk about north korea this morning. one of the most closed off oppressive countries in the world. few americans have really laid eyes on north korea in person. but a high-profile group just got back from a controversial trip. bill richardson and google chair spent three days in the country. governor richardson with us from washington, d.c. former u.s. ambassador to the united nations. we appreciate your time this morning. >> thank you. >> the state department didn't think this trip was a go ahead idea. you went anyway. why? >> they were understandably cautious. the relationship with north korea is not very good.

but we went as private, humanitarian trip for three reasons. one, to urge the north koreans to have a moratorium on missile activity, no nuclear tests. second secondly, to find out about the american detained there, kenneth bay, that he be properly treated, and thirdly, to spread the message about an open society, the internet. cell phones. eric schmidt was like a rack star there, talking to people, to students, to scientists, to software engineers about the importance of the internet. you know, i think it's important that we not isolate the north koreans, they have six nuclear weapons at the most. they have 1.4 million men in uniform. they are hostile. they are unpredictable. i think it's better to have a dialog with them. i've negotiated with them the last 15 years or so successfully for political prisoners, for

mesh servicemen, on rice issues, food issues. it's important we engage them, and i'm worried, soledad, we're headed k isolated and country surrounding north korea south korea, japan, the united states, russia, the six-party countries. we need diplomacy, dialog, the new policy. >> abby huntsman here. what was your assessment of kim jung un. did you get any sense that he was different from his father, grandfather, more open to reform? >> my sense, and it's owning a sense. we did meet with him. is that he is more open to reform there are some economic measures that he has taken that are a little more open minded. his manner is more mixing with the people. more speeches. his father, for instance, never

addressed the country. he was educated in europe, so i have some hope, but at the same time, he engages in these missile launches. i think now that he's done that, perhaps he feels he's established this domestic strength with his people and now he'll engaged in diplomacy. what's important is to have a dialog, to try to find out what's going on there. >> governor, chris frates here. i want to find out, do you think it's appropriate for a group of private citizens led by a business leader of one of our biggest companies to be negotiating, trying to open up ties with north korea. doesn't that run cross wise with our policy from the state department? >> no. i don't think it should just be officials in the state department. it should be private citizens, philanthropic groups, ngos,

mediators, the united nations. my point here is that right now, our relationship with north korea is frozen and if some individuals, private citizens, especially somebody like eric schmidt who can bring a message of openness and hope and the internet and cell phones and more communication, and be treated as somebody that they are intensely interested in, remember, we met with students, with average pee average people. it wasn't just the government. >> but there is part of that, and reason.com wrote an article, called bill richardson and eric schmidt's bogus trip to north korea. one of his point is you create lev rablg for prop ganda given that north korea hasn't been able to make it possible for its people to eat enough, the hope its government can do something about internet access seems as fruitless as this trip, which

kim jong-un will use to appear as a high-tech leader. doesn't he have a point? >> no, he doesn't. how can we be accused of that? these people are thirsty for openness. when we deliver a message that access to the internet, exchange for information and open science good, i don't see how this can be harmful. when we tell north koreans -- i've been dealing with them for years, what they are doing is heading toward a path toward confrontation against their own interests. against their own economic growth by spending so much on nuclear weapons, on missile tests, that's the message that they receive, and maybe we'll do some good, maybe not. and then there is the american there. >> you didn't get a chance to meet with kenneth bay. his son had written a letter, that he was hopeful you would

deliver to his father. what happened on that front? >> the letter will be delivered. kenneth bay is way up in the northern part of the country. not accessible to us. but we made the point very strongly that he should be treated properly. we were assured that the judicial proceedings on his case would happen soon. that's sometimes a good sign, because it means it may be wrapping up and hopefully he'll be released. nobody had been -- we have a swedish representative there. we don't have representatives in north korea, advocating for him. this case got a lot of visibility there. if we can help one human being, give the message of cool it on the nuclear front and talk about the internet and openness. the arab spring was creaked by the internet, by facebook, by twitter, young people communicating with each other. one of the most closed societies

in terms of the internet. it's reserved exclusively for very few in the government. if we can spread the message, we can do some good. not just the government that should have this access. there is one bit of hope. the new president of south korea, a woman, making positive statements about engagement. these countries in the region, china, south korea, japan, could participate more in engaging the north koreans, opening them up and finding ways for them to cool their dramatic surge in nuclear development and missile activity. that reduces tension in the peninsula, and that's good and then the north koreans can spend their resources on their own people. >> governor bill richardson, former governor bill richardson joining us this morning. thank you for being with us. we appreciate it. still ahead on "starting point," this is president obama

hard at work with his staff over christmas. so tough trying to get a deal done on the fiscal cliff. where were the binders full of women that he could have used to add a little diversity to his staff? we'll talk about that, straight ahead. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] some day, your life will flash before your eyes. ♪ make it worth watching. ♪ the new 2013 lexus ls. an entirely new pursuit.

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president obama's picks for his new cabinet members are raising questions about diversity, actually a lot of questions about diversity. where are the women? where are the people of color? anything anybody notice about all of them? ding, ding, ding! yes, chris, you are so smart! charlie rangel said on msnbc, it's as embarrassing as hell. melissa joan hart tweeted this. where is that binder full of women now? you know when you are being dissed by sabrina the teenage witch, have you a problem, mr. president. bill, i'll give you this one. >> that photo that's been so widely talked about, all of the folks in the white house, i

mean, i don't know if you are allowed to say this on tv, but barack obama is black. >> yes, he is. >> and that picture is not representative of the whole team. >> he's also a man. >> dan pfeiffer is hungry, apparently, in the oval office. but some of the top advisers are women. half the white house staff is women. this has been a diverse cabinet. a diverse white house staff. >> not that diverse. >> pretty diverse. >> a double standard does exist. no way republican president would get away with this cabinet. >> well, first of all this cabinet is a lot more diverse than president george w. bush's is. he apparently got away with that. so president obama has been committed to diversity. but what i think we're experiencing now is a communications problem, more than an actual diversity problem. these four picks happen to be white men. it shines the light on diversity in the white house. the president has been committed

to diversity. >> let's look. let's go back to the evidence, right? you have the picture and it's not just these guys. >> you have a picture, of thousands taken in the oval office. >> let's get someone in the office to pick the top 50 people in the white house. i had assume that 50% of those top people are not women, i had assume 13% are not african-american, i will assume there is not a representation of ace an americans, latinos. i feel fairly confident saying that. >> would you be wrong to make that assumption. actually, if you -- >> want to wager? >> $100. pinky bet. >> if you take the staff of the west wing, which you can -- >> 50 most important positions. >> fairly say people close toast the president. >> 50 most -- >> work in the same house with he lives. 50% of those people are women. >> no, 50 most important

positions, okay, which is not who exactly is in that one space. ith the most important and relevant positions, we'll crunch those numbers over the weekend. >> let's do it. >> see if it represents what the nation is. you cannot compare it to other administrations. everybody should stand on their own merit. >> go ahead. >> i think the problem here for the president is that a lot of folks assumed coming into a second term that he would be able to do a much more diverse pick and that's what charlie rangel's point was, don't you have the ability now, in a second term, to create a much more diverse administration than what bill clinton had? you talk about george bush, obama only 10% more diverse than george bush was. >> the susan rice pick messed up the rollout of this completely. >> condi rice was asked this question about you a reporter when she was secretary of state about the lack of diversity in the state department. and she says don't judge me as i

enter the institution, but as i leave the institution. that's a great point. it's about how these people serve the country. >> i'm a very patient person. i'm happy to judge people as they are leaving as well. all right. we have to take a short break. if you feel like you work in a toxic environment but don't know what to do about it -- how is that for a segue? ken linder written a new book called "your killer emotions." best way to navigate your way is to keep emotions in check. we'll talk to him, up next. geico's emergency roadside assistance is there 24/7. oh dear, i got a flat tire. hmmm. uh... yeah, can you find a take where it's a bit more dramatic on that last line, yeah? yeah i got it right here. someone help me!!! i have a flat tire!!! well it's good... good for me. what do you think? geico. fifteen minutes

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everybody has a moment where you get upset and you do something you regret. our next guest says he knows how to control those urges and lead to a successful personally at work. he has a new book "your killer emotions: seven steps to mastering the toxic impulses that sabotage you." good morning. >> good morning, soledad. >> i'm guessing you work with hostile people on both sides of the negotiation and there are lots of people who think anger and emotionality in workplace is just who they are and it's not

really changeable, that's just what you get when you deal with people. is that not the case in. >> it's definitely changeable and i have counseled people for 30 years to make positive life choices and the one thing that has stood out is that you can be brilliant, you can have the best life strategies but if you make a decision when you're angry, when you're hurt, when you feel resentful, jealous, you can make a toxic decision because you want to opt for a quick fix. you want to retaliate quickly. you want to feel good and whether it's in the workplace or outside the workplace you take the cigarette, you take the drink, binge drinking, women, in that story or go for the bad guy, the bad girl or you get involved in an angry exchange, you say something you regret, and it could damage you for life. >> how do you keep your emotions in check? what are the rules for keeping your emotions in check. >> one of the things is you never want to make a life choice when you are overwhelmed with

emotions. you want to step back, you want to be cognitively clear and you want to make a strategic choice. you always want to know ahead of time if you can what you want out of every interaction, so don't let yourself get sucked into -- >> i want $100 from bill is what i want. that's my goal at the end of the day. >> what would your advice be to someone like president obama who really has their emotions in check. is it possible to go too far in the direction that you're so in control of a situation that it's a danger? >> if it's working for you then you should stick with it. you can use your emotions, i mean for example, fear can be positive, anger, if it catalyzes you to do something positive, can be very, very good. emotions per se aren't positive or negative. it's the expression of the emotion which is positive and negative, does it fuel you to do something positive or

self-destructive. >> what if you're on the receiving end. how do you navigate a work environment that's toxic if you're not necessarily at the top of the hierarchy but a worker bee in the middle, how do you do that? >> i think, again, you want to think about what you want out of the interaction. i believe in something called a choreography, whether it's career choreography or life choreography. there are certain logical steps you need to achieve any goal but you need to be cognitively clear to act those out. killer emotions i talk about how to use your emotions to get there, the other thing which i think is really important it's important to be consequence cognizant and that is before you do anything, think about the consequences of your act. david petraeus, arnold schwarzenegger and tiger woods. if they had thought about the consequences they may not have done what they did.

>> are you listening? >> do you have to be able to fake not being angry, fake not being enraged? >> that's a good question. >> yes, i mean it helps pause again, here's the thing, it's not feeling the emotion, it's how you express it and the context. we all know there are certain times when actually getting angry can be a good thing, showing your indignation can be a good thing, it all depends on the context. so the question is, is it the right time to express it and i think you probably all agree with that. >> the book is call "your killer emotions: the seven steps to mastering the toxic emotions impulses that sabotage you." you could leave it on someone's desk, hi. >> here, soledad. >> why, thank you, i don't need this. still ahead a ferocious outbreak of the flu to tell you about a, it's spreading. why this strain is so powerful and how to avoid it.

then, she is the "t" in tlc, t-boz will talk about her reality show next. ♪ what are you doing? nothing. are you stealing our daughter's school supplies and taking them to work? no, i was just looking for my stapler and my... this thing. i save money by using fedex ground and buy my own supplies. that's a great idea. i'm going to go... we got clients in today. [ male announcer ] save on ground shipping at fedex office.

welcome, everybody, our starting point this morning a severe flu outbreak is spreading, dogses killed, hundreds hospitalized.

this morning new numbers show there might be relief in sight. clashing over gun violence the vice president biden meets with the nra and it doesn't go so well. can they find a solution to stop violence. this year's graduates have a reason to smile, why they're expected to earn more money even though it's a tough job market. how this school teacher helped convince a school shooter to put the gun down. coming up, dr. sanjay gupta will join us, dr. anthony fauci from the national institute of diseases and singer t-boz of tlc fame. she has a new reality show. it's friday january 11th and "starting point" starts right now. ♪ i know that you're gonna have it your way or nothing at all ♪ ♪ but i think you're moving too fast ♪ >> i love that song. we could sing along with it. come on, abbie, do it.

bill burton is with us, senior strategist for priorities usa action, co-host of "early start" john berman is with us. let's talk about the flu a little bit because tons of people are sick, it's taken the country by storm, landed thousands of people in hospital, being blamed for dozens of deaths. the cdc will be out with new flu numbers this morning and cnn's medical unit getting an early look at the numbers. they suggest some activity might be going down a bit. chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta joins us from atlanta. what do we expect to hear from the cdc later this morning? >> elizabeth cohen has been working the numbers overnight. we expect something we've been thinking about, the widespread nature of this flu has grown from 41 to 47 states. we sort of knew that was going to happen. that means how many different

places within a state are actually documenting flu? but the good news in this, i think, is of 29 states before that were reporting high levels of flu activity it's down to 24 states now so at least in a little bit of relief there potentially as you say, soledad. they're calling it an epidemic which basically means we're seeing more cases than they would otherwise expect at this time of year. last year it was a mild season. this one is the worst in a decade. >> enough of the vaccine to go around, every year i know often we have concerns about the fact that there's a run on the vaccine and maybe not enough people will get access to it. >> we're telling everyone to get a flu shot and here we are hoping there is enough. it looks like there is. to show you numbers to give you a look at the country, while there may be some spot shortages in various areas we know about 135 million doses were actually manufactured, 128 million doses were distributed, and but look at the bottom number, 112

million people vaccinated which is pretty good. you'd like to see it higher by this time early february but there should be 60 million doses in pharmacies and another 7 million ready to go and a few hundred thousand doses of the flu mist, the nasal spray that's out there. >> sanjay, thank you very much. if you need more information tune in to cnn for the latest on the flu outbreak on "sanjay gupta m.d." and see what's happening there. i spoeke with dr. anthony fauci with the national institutes of health. the volume of people getting the flu is going down but it exists in more states. is this an indication the flu season overall is going to be very bad or an indication it might be less bad than predicted? >> you know, soledad i think at this point when you see numbers from one week to another change that way, it is very difficult to predict what the trend is

going to be. it's always nice to see a tick go down, just the way early on when we saw the early tick go up in early december but just on the basis of one report from a weekly surveillance, i think we need to withhold judgment as to what the ultimate outcome is going to be when we get to the end of this flu season, so it's always nice to see cases go down but we've got to be careful because we are still in the middle of an outbreak. >> why? we've heard that the match for the vaccine to the virus strain is actually better. it would make you think the numbers should be going down. fewer people should be getting the flu. >> yeah, i think what we need to appreciate is even the best of vaccines with influenza are certainly not anywhere near 100% or 90%. there's a considerable degree of variability of effectiveness of a vaccine. if you go back and look

historically when you have a good match, you can have an efficacy of the vaccine somewhere between 60, 65 or maybe up to 70%. older people do not do nearly as well and the efficacy of the vaccine sometimes is as down as 50%, very young other wise healthy people tend to have a good effect of the vaccine. >> how do i make sure or keep myself from getting sick? is it about purel, washing your hands? leaving your office when you can? what is the best thing to do? >> it's the combination of two things, the personal hygiene and being careful about your environment. that's one way to do it. the other way is to get vaccinated. for example, when you see people who are sneezing and coughing, just try to avoid that and not get into crowded places where people are sneezing and coughing or whatever. washing your hands is critical. people don't fully appreciate that if you have someone -- >> better than purel? >> well, you know, there's always the argument about purel

or not. could you use purel, it's not going to hurt you but the washing of the hands is really important and people don't realize for example if someone has the flu, and they go like that and sneeze or cough the virus is on their hand. they shake hands with you, you feel personal well, you touch your face, your eyes, your nose or your mouth and that's how you get it. as best as possible wash your hands frequently a void situations where there are people who are sneezing and coughing all over you but most of all get vaccinated. >> and stop shaking hands with people clearly. i got too many kids. i get them vaccinated, i get everybody vaccinated every single year. i cannot get sick. i am way too busy. dr. fauci always nice to have you with us. >> same here, thanks. >>'s >> especially those who are at the office, take care of yourself and get better. >> step away from me now.

>> and my four small children in elementary school who i have colleagues also we can spread this disease, we're going to stop it. >> how do you avoid it? >> purel. >> people that are not covered part-time are not going to take work off. >> purel yourself, the table. >> you see people with face masks in the subway, they do it to protect themselves and makes me run in the other direction. >> what you got? vice president joe biden's gun control task force will deliver its recommendation to president obama by tuesday, that's pretty fast. today he meets with representatives of the video game industry. so far he's met with the nra. the nra called the meeting "an agenda to attack the second amendment." the 16-year-old who opened fire and wounded a classmate claimed he was bullied, he was targeting two boys at taft high school in bakersfield, california. he shot a second round as students escaped but missed.

teacher ryan heber and campus supervisor kim lee fields have high praise for convincing him to put the gun down. >> my son is going to be all right but the community is probably going to think about him much, i mean the other students are the ones that probably are going to be affected the most. my son will always be affected, but he handles things well. >> for now the suspect will be charged as a juvenile with attempted murder. it will be up to prosecutors to decide if he will be charged as an adult. james holmes will be tried for murder in the colorado theater movie rampage that move from the judge who presided over his three-day evidence. holmes will be arraigned on 166 counts connected to the massacre including first-degree murder. he's accused of opening fire inside an aurora, colorado,

theater last july. the murder charges could carry the death penalties. we have good news about the killer whales stuck in an ice hole in canada. mother nature solved the problem. shifting wind patterns overnight broke up the ice which hopefully allowed the 11 whales to swim free. they have not been seen since wednesday. a lot of team talking about this new portrait of the duchess of cambridge painted by the artist paul emsley. the royal couple arrived to view it and prince william called it beautiful, it is getting criticism because some people suggest it doesn't make catherine look all that great. to me it makes her look older than she is, she has bags under her eyes. the painter said it was simply hard to paint her beauty. >> ahh, she's a beautiful woman and maybe -- >> but's know the a 40-year-old

woman and that's what she looks like in that picture. >> so when she is 40 -- >> she'll grow into it. for the record when i get something painted of me i'd like it to reflect younger, not you when you're 70. yeah, i think she's prettier than that picture. she's a beautiful woman. >> i agree. ahead on "starting point," the vice president expected to present the president with his recommendations to prevent gun violence. up next we'll talk with jan schakowsky on the gun prevention task force and t-boz has a new reality show she says it's even more serious than her real life. we'll talk about that straight ahead. mine was earned in djibouti, africa, 2004. the battle of bataan, 1942. [ all ] fort benning, georgia, in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation

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showdown in washington, d.c., vice president joe biden says he'll deliver recommendations to the president on gun control on tuesday and it comes after the meeting with groups like the nra and the national shooting sports foundation. here is the vice president laying out a preview of what he's planning to recommend.

>> there's an emerging set of recommendations not coming from me but coming from the groups we've met with. one is there is a surprising, so far, a surprising recurrence of suggestions that we have universal background checks not just close the gp show loophole but total universal background checks including private sales. >> the nra doesn't support that. they say the whole meeting in fact was an attack on the second amendment. congresswoman jan shat could ch from illinois. the nra said "we were disappointed with how little this meeting had to do with keeping our children safe and how much it had to do with an agenda to attack the second amendment." it didn't sound coming out of the meeting there was much progress. what do you think the solution is that brings in all these

disparate groups who are on different sides of the issue, sometimes completely contradictory sides in a way that will actually make some progress or is it just not doable? >> first of all, soledad, there are children getting ready to go to school in chicago, my city, who are worrying about getting shot. that happens every day in the city of chicago, and what about the rights of children, of families to live in a safe community? so that's the right that i'm most concerned about, but it is not consistent -- inconsistent with the second amendment, and so i believe that there is this growing consensus. your cnn poll showed that 95% of people, and that really includes about 90% of gun owners, believe there ought to be universal background checks, so the vice president is right, all the data is showing that, and so you know, there are new players on the field right now. we've got the white house fully

engaged. we have mayors against illegal guns and -- >> and old players. >> if you live in new york. >> like the nra, let's take a look at chicago, your city. what would the solution there be that would bring down what is an insanely high murder rate in that city from 2012 and is already on track two weeks into the year to be a very high murder rate in that city? what is the solution, in your mind? >> well, there's no question that universal background checks would be very, very important, so that people, you know that 40% of the guns that are purchased are purchased without such a background check, through private dealers, through gun shows, if they had to get a background check, we could eliminate some of those purchases. clearly, these large capacity ammunition clips, the assault magazines, if we were to eliminate those, that would help. we're moving away from guns that

we used to know about to these powerful military-style weapons. >> representative -- >> and we can do something to reduce that. >> representative, when the vice president spoke yesterday he didn't mention a ban on assault rifles. are you reading into that at all? is that going to be too politically difficult? are we taking it off the table before we start? >> well, i don't think so. certainly the president had mentioned that reinstatement of the assault weapons ban was one of his priorities. but you know, even data collection, it's incredible that the nra has prevented even the centers for disease control from collecting the kind of data we need in order to be able to monitor the kind of violence that we're seeing in our communities, and so i think -- and the vice president has met with hollywood and with the video game people, and dealing with mental health so there are many solutions, but the tragedy

is not doing anything, and that's what it seems that the nra is about. >> congresswoman, it's bill burton, hope you're well. are there any republicans in the house you think there's hope for working with? >> i'm not hearing anything. >> i'll ask the question. i don't know if you can still hear me, bill was asking are there republicans in the house, i don't know if she can hear us. you know what? i think she's just lost her audio. we'll see if we can ific it afi keep the conversation going. >> but what can actually be done. there are 50 to 75 republican members in the house that are very likely not going to vote in that direction. >> she's in the house, the democratic caucus on gun violence. is it ridiculous to have a democratic caucus on gun violence and a republican caucus, i don't know if there is one, and not have one that encompasses everybody, right, because it's not going to be a solution from one party. >> i don't think there's republicans who are willing to

join such a caucus. when you talk about gun safety, there's not a lot of republicans who are signing up for it. you see a lot of democrats even from conservative areas like joe manchin. >> let's pose that question to you, bill, you want to ask her again? >> hey there, congresswoman, it's bill burton. i was asking do you think there's any hope for republicans who you can work with in the house in order to get anything done? what do you think there are republicans, what do you think that any republicans might support at all? >> i actually do think, because of the new super pack that gabby giffords and her husband and of course they are gun owners, they've been nra members, we have a new political reality out there, and i think that there is a mobilization of americans like we've never seen before and that's going to include the sportsman and it's going to include the gun owners that are saying we can do better to

protect our communities and to protect the second amendment. so i think politically, we're going to see some of those members and areas that have been with the nra saying, taking another look and saying, am i going to be hearing from people in my community, from my voters that are saying, no, we have to make some sensible changes now. i think that can happen. >> congresswoman january schakowsky, democrat from illinois, appreciate your time. sorry about the audio problems. >> thank you. should hourly employees get paid sick leave? would it make you and the economy healthier? we'll talk about the debate going on in the middle of the flu outbreak, that's coming up next. meet the five-passenger ford c-max hybrid. c-max says ha. c-max says wheeee. which is what you get, don't you see? cause c-max has lots more horsepower than prius v, a hybrid that c-max also bests in mpg.

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tough call this morning, the new york city comp. trulier john lew has been an advocate for paid sick leave for hourly workers. workers without paid sick days are more likely to report to work when they're sick and spread germs which i dislike immensely. lew says people who have to work when they're sick are less

productive and put the health and the economy at risk. there are people who worry about losing their jobs and cannot call in sick because we've been joking about not liking sick people around us but for whom their job is their source of income and if they don't go in they're likely to be fired. >> this is part of the reason why we have an epidemic. you go to get a coffee and the person who is making it, you're sniveling, i don't know if you should be here. >> i'm allergic to something on the set. >> oh, the allergies. >> it's probably me. but it's interesting back in 1960, companies, every company provided health insurance, whether you were a part-time or full time, because health care was only 2% of the gdp. today it's 18% to 20%. >> and culturally there was not a sense of go in at all costs, no matter what. remember people used to, i remember even for school, your parents would say oh you're a little warm, stay in bed and you would just, you know, that would be that. >> your house was different than mine.

>> i wasn't faking is why. i wasn't faking. it's different times. >> don't you think states will get to the point where they have to find another alternative, for people in this type of situation to be able to afford it? >> i think it's going to be interesting next year when the health exchanges come online from president obama's health care reform and you are able to cover more part-time workers, they're able to buy into these exchanges. does that change the dynamic and will that be something in five years from now we'll say we were sitting around the table before that went in and folks were going to work and now they feel like they had the care, they can go get it and maybe the culture will change a little bit where you can actually stay home as well. >> doesn't mean they get paid. means they have health insurance but doesn't mean they get paid. you talk to construction workers, hourly workers of all kinds, worried about losing their jobs. >> these two are different arguments. if our country is healthier in general, if people can get preventative medicine and go to the doctor when they're sick the

outbreaks will not be as widespread and that's i think going to be a big difference with health care reform. >> it is a serious issue for folks who are sick but if you're sick, you shouldn't be here, seriously. we love having you, bill, but i'm glad you're over there on that end of the table. >> at least you're not sitting next to him like me. >> purel, i'll get you some. when lance armstrong sits down with oprah, many folks are predicting he is going to come clean about his doping accusations. does he need to confess? and a new warning about a popular sleeping aid for certain folks, where the fda is recommending changes to ambien. uhh, it's next month, actually... eddie continues singing: to tickets to... paradiiiiiise! no four. remember? whoooa whooaa whooo! you know ronny, folks who save hundreds of dollars by switching to geico sure are happy.

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welcome back, everybody. you're watching "starting point." we begin with john berman with an update. the faa will conduct a comprehensive review of boeing

787 dreamliner after a number of safety incidents involving the super jumbo aircraft. they'll hold a news conference an hour from now. the jets were grounded three times in three days and two more incidents were reported overnight in japan. boeing insists the dreamliner is safe to fly dismissing the mishaps on flights this week as what they call growing pains for any new plane. south carolina governor nikki haley with a teary good-bye to their husband. she and her two kids won't see him for another two years. they are shipping out to afghanistan, he'll be helping afghan farmers with their crops. in a statement on her facebook page she wrote "we are a proud military family who understands the sacrifices any family goes through when a loved one is serving his or her country. we will miss him while he's away." a warning for women who take ambien and similar sleeping pills, the sleep aid stays in women's bloodstreams longer than men potentially making them too

drowsy to drive in the morning or perform other activities that require full alertness. the fda is now requiring doctors prescribe half doses. a really damning report, shocking released in london concerning long time bbc host jimmy savile. he was a prolific sexual abuser of children. matthew chance has the details in london. >> good morning to you as well. that's right, absolutely terrible report has come out after 14 weeks of investigation by british police in conjunction with social services, just the figures are quite astonishing in themselves when they're related to jimmy savile and his career of abuse that took place over a period of more than half a century from 1955 to 2009. there's been 450 complaints issued against jimmy savile, that famous children's tv presenter here in britain, who

is now of course dead, he died in 2011. 214 of them have been recorded as abuse, including 34 rapes, the abuse took place over a long period as i said, also across a wide range of ages, people between the ages of 47 on the upper limit and 8 years old on the lower limits. so very serious abuses being recorded finally by the british police. >> the scope of the allegations simply shocking this morning. we have a dire warning from defense secretary leon panetta about the pentagon's budget saying the military is being prepared to deal with the worst as a result of the fiscal cliff negotiations which failed to end the process known as sequestration or deep across the board spending cuts.

pa n panetta said it can harm our military readiness. the loop is providing good fodder for late night comedians. >> president obama nominated current white house chief of staff jack lew to be the new secretary of the treasury, his signature goes on the right side of the bill and this is jack lew's signature. before he worked at the white house he worked at hostess as a cupcake icer. >> is that your kigt or are you testing to see if the pen works? the only way that you're allowed to have that as your signature is if your name is boing boing boing boing boing. >> perhaps our future treasury secretary. >> that's so funny. thanks, john, appreciate it. lance armstrong, is he going to admit to doping?

he's sitting down with oprah next week, his first interview since he was stripped of his seven tour de france titles and banned for life. the rumor is he's going to use that interview to admit he took performance enhancing drugs for years. howard kurtz host of "reliable choices" and lauren ashburn, editor-in-chief of "the daily gallow." nice to talk to both of you. do you think he has to confess if he's going to sit down with oprah? >> what else is he going to d is he going to talk about his family? he has to do something, right? but the problem is i don't think oprah is oprah anymore. do you know when her show is on? do you know? do you watch? >> doesn't matter. >> 7:00 p.m. -- >> doesn't matter. >> -- at 4:00. >> the youtube clip. >> that's exactly the problem. if just a youtube clip makes it you've got 30 seconds at the most. are you going to sit down and watch an hour and a half of lance armstrong?

>> she is still oprah winfrey and lance armstrong who by the way lied to me in two interviews as well as the rest of the world sees he has to go to the church of oprah and seek absolution. >> it will be boiled down to the moment where he says whatever it is he says. >> he has to cry. >> i want to see him and this was the great thing about the last interviews with oprah, i want to see him sit there for an hour and a half, i want to see his body language, i want to see what his eyes look like. >> you'll find the channel and the time and oprah, isn't she banking on that. that's the whole point. >> that's what she needs to do now. i think she's sort of faded from the limelight and she's been trying to run her channel. it gets very small ratings and she needs to be interviewing these people. that's what we knew her as, the absolution queen. >> this interview could be as important for oprah winfrey trying to get back on the cultural map as it will be for lance armstrong but i don't think no matter what lance

armstrong does and he tears up, this guy is on tape in a million different places saying no, never, no evidence, never did it. is america going to forgive him? >> why do we love athletes, this he can do something we can't do, run faster, jump higher and he had a fairytale story of overcoming cancer. the question is where would he have been he had not used performance-enhancing drugs. >> you wait a little time, work in a soup kitchen. >> i don't think it's going to happen this time. i do not think it's going to happen this time. >> you start with oprah. >> where do you go from there and knowing lance armstrong i'm not sure he actually admits to it. i think there's probably a shading. it's not an "i doped." >> there's a lot of money on the table for him, a lot of businesses. >> business charity, livestrong, a lot of litigation he needs to unravel. there was an orchestrated role. it began with a leak from "the

new york times" saying he's considering. >> his lawyer said it wasn't true. >> his lawyer said let lance speak for himself. he'll go to oprah and speak for himself and i think that you say america is willing to forgive but he not only said that he was innocent, he attacked the anti-doping officials as conducting a vendetta,' tacked the media. >> it's not going to work. >> it might take longer than your average person, marion jones, you cry, admit it, and over time people forget and the only way that he can do other things is to draw a line of well that was then, here was my story then and now i turned to the now. >> what's he going to do? he was known for being the greatest cyclist of all-time. who is lance armstrong without the seven medals. >> still has a voice and his own celebrity or now notoriety and i think he just needs this -- >> not with sheryl crow.

>> and did she know? >> so that he can turn the page and it can be before oprah and then after oprah and just in communications it's what happens. >> he lied to you back in the day. what could he say to change your mind? >> he lied six months ago and attacked "60 minutes" and did it with great passion and fervor in his voice. >> he wants him to come back to "reliable sources" and he's sorry, will you book him as will we and we will all be part of the reinvention of lance armstrong. >> soledad is the new oprah. >> i think crying helps, a little teary-eyed. >> can you tear up a little bit? >> not from you, from him. >> sorry. lance armstrong doesn't need me to forgive him. look what happened with barry

bonds, samsamysosa because of t accusation of steroids. this guy cheated. >> they are not going to forgive. this is ten years of cheating and lying, all these kids. >> would you like to put money on this, ten years from now, they will let it go, i'm guaranteeing you that. we got to take a break. thanks for talking with us this morning. we appreciate it. still ahead back to our conversation about this photo, black and white version, bill burton was talking about the number of women in the white house, we've crunched some of the numbers -- >> or lack thereof. >> -- or lack thereof and talk about that. also battling a brain tumor singer t-boz has a new reality show. ♪ so i creep yeah

i need you. i feel so alone. but you're not alone. i knew you'd come. like i could stay away. you know i can't do this without you. you'll never have to. you're always there for me. shh! i'll get you a rental car. i could also use an umbrella. fall in love with progressive's claims service. welcome back to "starting point." i'm christine romans watching your money, the s&p 500 hit a five-year high yesterday closing at the highest level since

december 2007, that's the best indicator for stocks in your jacques. this morning u.s. stock futures are flat. american express the late toast announc layoffs, cutting 5,400 jobs, morgan stanley saying it will cut 1,600 jobs. brand new this morning, ford hiring 2,200 salaried workers in the u.s., that's the most for ford in ten years. new evidence college graduates will be paid more this year starting salaries rose 3.4% for new college grads in 2012, according to brand new numbers from the national association of colleges and employers. here's the range for salaries, for humanities and social science jobs 37 grand a year up to nearly 62,000 for engineering and there's huge demand for those engineering jobs. >> stem, clearly.

stem. >> do as i say, not as i do. earlier we were talking about the. the's cabinet, talking about this photo which got a lot of flack for, the binders of women because only valerie jarrett's leg is visible in the photo. many of his positions he has pointed the four most recent ones all white men and bill burton said there are plenty of women in the president's cabinet. we said we'd look at the top 50 position, feedback is no president listens to 50. it's an unreasonable number so if we look at -- >> sounds like you're welching on the bet. >> careful. careful. still my show for 16 more minutes. so if you look at the top 20, the top 19 positions i'm happy to let you fill in some of the other blanks. chief of staff male, deputy chief of staff two women, secretary of defense male, secretary of state male, treasury, male, cia director male, national security adviser male, ambassador to the u.n.

female, press secretary male, deputy communications female, general counsel male, counsel to the president, male, senior adviser, one male, one female, council of economic adviser, one male, one female, omb, 19 positions of which 13 are men, 6 are women. so even if i were to give you six more slots to 25, which someone told me is a reasonable advisory position number, that the math speaks for itself, mr. burton. >> is hillary clinton on there? she does still serve in the administration. >> john kerry will take her place. >> sotomayor and in the cabinet you have three agencies where there's more women than men in the agencies overall and heads of those agencies between solis, sebelius. >> sebelius is staying but solis is staying. latina leaving, go ahead. >> in the white house, cecelia

munoz, head of the dpc. >> dpc? >> domestic policy council. the head of homeland security is an important adviser to the president, janet napolitano. >> you want to take the supreme court? >> two female appointments to the supreme court and i will give you homeland security, that's three women that brings us up to nine to 13 men. >> that doesn't count the strong women who have left, carol browner. >> we're off the boards there. >> susan rice cabinet level. >> unclear what she's going to do. >> key adviser to the president already. there's different ways you can crunch the numbers. >> i know, i'm trying. >> there are critically important women in the president's life who advise him every single day. >> you didn't mention michelle, sasha or malia. >> also not in the photo. >> they were in hawaii, in fairness to them. >> yes, because the whole point of the photo was to show the

president was hard at work on the issue and the bigger question who let this photo go through. >> i feel bad for dan pfeiffer caught eating an apple. >> dan don't eat in the picture next time. we'll split it 50/50. you know her from the popular group tlc, one of my favorite songs "no scrubs" come on, abbie. >> "waterfall." >> she's recovered from a brain tumor and revitalized her career, she'll join us, up next, back in just a minute. >> thank you, guys, how are you?

♪ don't go chasing waterfalls

♪ please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to ♪ you know our next guest from her multiple chart-topping songs with tlc including "waterfall" t-boz has a show called "totally t-boz" talks about recovering from her brain tumor, raising her daughter and sustaining her musical career. >> i ain't never wanted to be, whoa i creep, yeah. no that's not whey want, okay. people are asking me as a writer to come in now. you have to get it while it's there or if you snooze in our business you lose. i had to do this, it was going to be a problem for me. >> t-boz is with us this morning. i'm already riveted, i'm so interested, there's drama, there's conflict, talking about your career, juggling it all, not having mentioned the recovery from surgery, the fact you have sickle cell anemia.

you're a very private person so usually you think the last person who is going to do a reality show. >> that's what i was thinking. . i can't believe i'm doing this, but i did it because it kind of fell on my lap, i turned down a lot of other reality shows and for me, i was like this is where i'm at in my life and tlc was interested in following me, not leading me and there's not ten years of technology to tell you about a the brain tumor so maybe i can speak up and help somebody and then you'll learn more about me, tlc and how i became who i am today. >> you said the show is more serious than your real life in a way. >> yeah, because i'm feeling like i never talked about being sick and i don't really like that to be like the focus, like can we laugh, too, like laughter is the best medication, i love to laugh but can we get some jokey jokes, there was funny stuff edited out, it was so funny. >> you're hilarious and at the same time you've had a brain tumor. >> yes. >> many people don't live to

tell the tale of their brain tumor surgery and you have recovered amazingly well. how are you feeling? >> i feel great. i'm done with physical therapy, back on my feet, of course i have sickle cell, there's no cure so i deal with that but i'm doing great honestly. i just have to take care of myself, eat better, you know, but there's no cure. it just means i won't get sick as long or as much. >> is there conflict about writing for others and writing for yourselves that you can get the group back and perform and, i mean how does that go? >> well, this is our 20th anniversary. >> wow! >> which makes me 28 this year. >> lordy, and each ovh-1 is doi bio pic on our life, we're doing a new song for a soundtrack for the movie and remix of some of the old hits or whatever but at the end of the day i think if you strategically plan it out right, i can do both, because i

have to. i'm at a point in my life, i'm 42, this can't last forever and i think you should use this avenue to move and merge on to other things. it's not a music industry anymore. you're in the business of entertainment and it goes to movies and other things that i do and write for other artists. >> what is the favorite thing, if it wasn't about making money what is the thing you do? >> i help people in my personal time, that's what i do because i was that kid in the hospital, told i couldn't live past 30 or have kids, they said i'd be disabled and i superseded that. meshing music with charity and i found that niche here to bring both of my passions together. so why not do it if i have the ground here to do it with press and everything else and i get to do music and help people at the same time. it makes it better and 20 years later, doing things i feel good about in my heart. >> your music got me and so many others through the awkward teenage years so i thank you for that but you guys are going to go on tour, i'd very much like

to fill the third position. >> what can you sing? >> i won't embarrass myself now but you're going it go on tour. how do you incorporate left eye so people feel like all three of you are there in. >> it's a bittersweet situation. they're happy to hear the hits but she's on big screens like in here and we're rockin' together, and it's fun. she's not there but she is there. >> she died in mexico ten years ago now. >> ten years, but we built this together so no other person will really ever fill that void. >> are you incorporating her into any of the new music you're doing? >> we're remixing the old hits. i don't know about the new songs, we're talking with drake and other people. >> we were playing one of your hit songs, so many. >> and singing along with it by the way. >> what's it like to hear that? do you enjoy it at this point or is it, oh, not again. >> it's kinda oh, not again.

>> no, no! >> reflecting on things i if sing it all the time so it's like ooh, again. i appreciate even having a song like a group in london just redid "waterfall" and i'm here 20 years later, wow, somebody redid our song so it's a blessing. >> so we shouldn't serenade with you "no scrubs" off the tare. t-boz great to see you and wonderful to see you healthy. >> thank you. >> i'll send you my demo. >> "end point" is up next. >> she's like i'll be waiting forever for that. great to have you, appreciate it.